Case Brief Civ Pro f2 Specific in Personam Jurisdiction Bauer 2 18 15 Identity of Case World Wide Volkswagen v Woodson 444 U S 286 1980 Page 183 of the casebook Summary of Facts Procedural History WWVW sold a car to plaintiffs in NY who were rear ended in Oregon on their way back to their home in Arizona Sued the dealer and others who were more nationwide for products liability the gas tank exploded when they were rear ended and they were seriously burnt Suit in Oregon where the witnesses were where they were hospitalized WWVW makes special appearance to contest personal jurisdiction Oregon says they have jurisdiction gets appealed all the way up to SCOTUS Statement of the Issue Does Oregon have personal jurisdiction over a car dealership when a customer purchases a car from them and drives it through an unrelated state Holding No personal jurisdiction Reasoning The plaintiffs main argument was that it was reasonable for WWVW to foresee one of their cars going into a different state Cars are inherently mobile But it is not foreseeability that your product will be used in a state but foreseeability that you will be sued in a state Defendant had no intentional contacts with the state of Oregon They were a dealership based solely in NY and an importer for vw that solely managed imports for three states in NE Without intentional contacts there is no basis for personal jurisdiction Evaluation The plainitffs also sued the national levels of the corporation It will work out ok for VW because they can sue for contribution indemnification more easily than the plaintiffs could Hanson v Denckla is also related it is essential in each case that there be some act by which the defendant purposefully availed itself of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum state thus invoking the benefits and protections of its laws
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